Of supplements and stuff.

<p>I’ve got several questions, mainly regarding supplements and then other stuff. I’ll be applying next year by the way but just think i should get prepared.</p>

<li>Creative Writing Supplement (where they’re accepted)</li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li>how much difference do these make to your apps?</li>
<li>if the person(s) reading it does not like it, then is my app jeopardized?</li>
<li>what should be the idea length? (i’m writing prose not poetry, probably microfiction though)</li>
</ul>

<li>Scientific Research Supplement</li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li>what level of research would be considered good enough? i’m working pretty much at a level expected of a grad student in my field (computational chemistry) but i’m not going to have enough time to publish prior to application. </li>
<li>in light of not publishing, is it still worth submitting my abstract?</li>
</ul>

<li>Supplemental Recommendations</li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li>over the past few years, i’ve done stuff like research and volunteering in various places out of a school context.
-should i send supplemental recommendations? </li>
<li>and if i do, how many should i send? (i was thinking 2 in addition to the required recs)</li>
</ul>

<li>Yr 8 Significant Accomplishments</li>
</ol>

<ul>
<li>some of my most significant achievements (including a gold at a national youth festival for drama) comes from my 8th grade. i’ve also got one writing award that can nicely complements my writing supplement as well as a role as youth ambassador of my school to a community development council. how do i work these into my app, because in my view, they’re rather significant things that have aided my growth, which is essentially what colleges want right?</li>
</ul>

<li>Rising Trends and ‘Forgiving’ the Freshman/Soph GPA</li>
</ol>

<p>-i’m an international and in my school we have one helluva hard curriculum. for illustration, a bunch of APs are the absolute bare minimum expected of all students in my school and most of us get fives in every AP we take.

  • keeping that in mind, and factoring in my focus on creative writing instead of my academics during my first two years of HS, my grades suffered.
  • but i’ve got one of the strongest rising trends you’d expect (it’s phenomenal)
  • so do you supppose top schools (like columbia, chicago, cornell, penn, etc.) will forgive my first two years after seeing my junior and senior grades (i’m applying only after senior yr) and excellent SATs, excellent ECs, good if not excellent recs and probably excellent essays. </p>

<p>cheers.</p>

<p>ooops, forgot.</p>

<ol>
<li>AP Grades</li>
</ol>

<p>when i apply next year i'll have 6 x fives for AP tests. and by the time i go to college, i'll have about 8 fives. is that enough to make a significant difference to admissions, factoring in everything else above?</p>

<ol>
<li><p>If the people you've worked with really know you well and could say something meaningful about you, send a rec, but I would only send one. Most colleges are fine with an extra rec (save for some very stickler schools) but get a little more annoyed when an applicant sends more than one extra.</p></li>
<li><p>Unfortunately, colleges do not care about anything before 9th grade (except for maybe the summer before, but in my eyes, that counts as 9th grade). You could maybe work these into essays, but it wouldn't be a good idea, nor would it make sense, to put these under awards on your application (there are only 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th grade checkmarks). </p></li>
<li><p>A serious upward trend is very much appreciated by colleges. I'm the same - due to certain circumstances I didn't work nearly as hard my first two years either - but I'm applying to some top schools nonetheless. It's not so much that they "forgive" these grades, but they see that you've matured or re-prioritized or something like that so as to make your marks increase, and they like that.</p></li>
<li><p>Unfortunately, not really. You only self-report AP tests when you're actually applying for admission and getting 5's doesn't have the kind of impact you'd hope for in terms of getting accepted over another candidate.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>As a suggestion think about creating a resume with similiar interests grouped together under catchy phrases.<br>
Have a section for writing and include what you've done, awards, where it's been published - even a link. Submit your work to contests this year so that you have outside confirmation of your talent. I think it looks more impressive to an adcom to have affirmation from a reputable organization than to actually provide the work to someone who is not qualified to judge it. Scholastic is a no brainer and there are many more.
Have a section on science. With a sentence or 3 describing your research. If you've entered any science competitons or been part of science team that would also be great to flush out the section or if you've tutored other students in science, or if you presented your finding to other classes in your school.</p>

<p>If you can combine these 2 talents into a single activity, well that would be the best.</p>

<p>bestwhit and flyaround have good advice.</p>

<p>srrinath, I think it's a little cocky to predict all 5s.</p>

<p>@bestwhit: i can understand how colleges might look favorably upon rising trends but if your cumulative GPA is lower wouldn't that hurt your app? (even if my RT is drastic)</p>

<p>@flyaround: thanks for your advice. as for writing, i've got two commendatory awards at the international level so i'm pretty sure it's supported by award. and as for science, i'll be going for two national level science fairs in my country and i'm also auditioning for an international science fair. i've also presented my project at a research congress in my sch this year and will do one more next year. so, both of those interests are well supported by recognition.</p>

<p>@molliegym: i'm not being cocky. every student in my school takes at least 5 APs and more than 95% of them get all fives. it's just the nature of my school. and i'm pretty sure i'm not bottom 5% or even bottom 50% in most subjects.</p>

<p>Don't underestimate the presentation of your accomplishments - they sound outstanding.
Make sure they are well organized, to the point and really sell you as an applicant.</p>

<p>alright, thanks</p>

<p>anyone else on any of those points?</p>

<p>bump 10 char</p>